TSMC to Continue Pushing in 2023

Still has momentum.

We still issue a buy rating on the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM). Our optimistic outlook on TSMC is based on our belief that the firm is better positioned to outperform now, as the semiconductor industry slowly but steadily improves and the company accounts for lower demand in FY2023. TSMC’s fourth-quarter earnings reports were mixed; the company beat profitability projections but fell short on sales. Despite this, the stock climbed roughly 5% when earnings were released. We believe TSM is attempting to counteract reduced end-market demand and inventory corrections, which have hurt sales and lowered forecasts for the upcoming quarter. It is likely that a bottom in TSM and the semi-space in 1H23, followed by a significant recovery in the year’s second half.

We feel that TSM’s stock is a good entry place before the semi-space rebounds. Since our last post on TSMC in late October, the company has already gained 41%, surpassing the SOX index, which has gained only 21%. The graph below depicts our rating history for TSMC.

We urge that investors disregard the market hype surrounding fears of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and instead focus on the company’s industry-first approach. We believe that TSMC is best positioned to benefit from chip demand once the semiconductor market recovers. Furthermore, we anticipate the company will have the additional power to raise ASP in the second half of 2023. We recommend that investors purchase the stock at current levels in order to benefit from TSM’s rising growth trend in 2023.

The leading pure foundry space allows for ASP gains.

We favor TSMC’s position in the foundry industry, with a 60% market share in 4Q22, and expect it to boost ASP on advanced nodes. We predict TSMC’s market share will expand significantly in 2022 as a result of the increased manufacture of smaller, more sophisticated 5nm wafers. Nanometer size is at the heart of technical developments in the semiconductor industry and, by extension, the world. To be more specific, nanoscale size refers to the distance between transistors on a chip; the smaller the chip, the more advanced and high-performing it is. Our positive outlook on TSM is predicated on our expectation that the company’s growth would be driven by increased adoption of advanced nodes, which are gradually accounting for a larger portion of TSMC’s revenue by technology. TSM has also begun the manufacture of 3nm processors for Apple (AAPL), sustaining Moore’s Law and looking ahead to next-generation technologies.

We anticipate that the rising global adoption of advanced nodes to meet the surging demand for semiconductors will fuel TSMC’s medium- to long-term growth. As a result, we anticipate that TSMC’s position will allow it to improve ASP on advanced nodes in 2H23, owing to the fact that it retains big semi-players as top clients, including Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and AAPL, among others.

Headwinds still persist

TSMC is not immune to the demand slowdown caused by macroeconomic headwinds, as seen by a dip in 1H23 followed by a fast recovery in 2H23. In Thursday’s results call, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei clarified, stating he anticipates 2023 to be a “slight growth year.” We expect TSMC will face inventory corrections in 1H23 as a result of the deteriorating chip-demand environment. We estimate CAPEX reduction in TSMC during 2023, largely as major client AAPL forecasts reduced demand despite weaker consumer spending. TSMC management warned that revenue would fall by roughly 5% in 1Q23, and that annual spending would be reduced. TSMC announced a CAPEX of $36.3B in 2022 and expects CAPEX to be $32-36B in 2023. We are not concerned by TSMC’s lower 1Q23 prediction because we believe the firm is de-risking guidance due to the challenging macro environment.

Despite the macroeconomic challenges, we expect TSMC to continue growing its foundry operations outside of Taiwan in order to mitigate the risks of geographically concentrating manufacturing on the disputed Island. We believe TSMC will play a larger role in the global shift to manufacturing chips in the United States after the CHIPS Act is implemented in 2022. The business intends to more than increase its investment in US foundries to $40 billion by 2026, establishing the US as a hub for advanced chip manufacturing. We estimate that it will take three to four years for US semiconductor companies Intel (INTC) and TSMC to meaningfully produce chips on US territory. Nonetheless, we anticipate that TSMC’s US fabs will be a long-term growth driver.

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We predict TSMC stock to rise in the second half of 2019 as the semiconductor sector recovers from a 15-month slump. We anticipate that product introductions and expanded manufacturing of 5nm wafers will help the semiconductor industry recover.

Valuation

We feel TSMC is a value investment since it is selling at a discount to its peer group average. The company is trading at 14.4x C2023 P/E, compared to the peer group average of 21.9x. The company is currently selling at 0.2x EV/C2023 Sales, compared to the peer group average of 4.8x. We believe TSMC stock offers an appealing entry point at current levels, and that investors who purchase the stock now will be well rewarded in 2023.

What should be done with the stock?

We remain optimistic about TSMC. We believe the stock is reacting to lower chip demand in 2023. While we expect the stock to remain volatile in 1H23 as the semiconductor space bottoms, we believe TSMC will benefit from demand tailwinds as the semi-space recovers in 2H23. We also anticipate that TSMC’s growth will be fueled by higher 5nm production and the company’s capacity to boost ASP on advanced nodes in 2H23. We feel the stock offers a good entry point at the current price and propose that investors acquire it.

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